Why an Event App is Better than Using Printed Materials

Why an Event App is Better than Using Printed Materials

As an event organiser, providing an event app for your attendees might be something new to you. In the events and conferences that you have organised, you probably furnished printed materials such as the agenda, floor map and welcome brochures to your attendees. The trope of going digital has become more apparent today and now, you can actually just provide an event app instead of using printed materials.

Here are three reasons why many event organisers have given up on printed materials and are currently using event promotion apps:

1.) It’s healthier for the environment.

First and foremost, using an event app makes you an advocate for the environment. In most events, printed materials distributed to attendees usually end up in the trash. The reason? Because attendees do not really want to keep things that won’t have any purpose to them after the event. This problem is fixed the moment you allow your attendees to simply download an event app to their mobile devices. If they think that they no longer need the app, they can just delete it. Foregoing the use of paper is healthier for the environment because it reduces the number of trees cut down. While you may think it won’t make a difference, it really would if you are organizing an exhibition, for example, with more than 10,000 visitors.

2.) Your attendees have more access to any event information.

Event planning apps for iPhone and Android are also advantageous because they allow your attendees to access important event information at any time. As long as they have the app downloaded to their mobile devices, they can check details such as the floor map, the speakers, the sponsors, the attendees, etc.

More importantly, the app gives them access to their daily agenda. If there are several sessions and streams found in your event, giving your attendees access to their personal schedule would help them manage their time better. The attendees can also take part in the process of building their own schedule as they favourite sessions and mark which ones they are coming to.

3.) You can send push notifications during the event.

Last but not the least, providing an event check in app to your attendees would enable you to send push notifications or announcements during the event. If you have important information to share or if there are changes in the venue or speakers, you can easily cascade information to everyone concerned. The attendees will get notified straight from their mobile device.

New Features for Event Apps

New Features for Event Apps

If you have been in the events industry for a long time, you should have noticed different event tech products such as event apps. Since almost everyone today has a mobile device such as a smartphone or a tablet, event organisers are trying to increase attendee engagement by providing attendees a mobile app that is designed specifically to improve their experience.

As the name may suggest, this feature of the app engages your attendees during any part of the agenda through “gaming”. These games may be simple or complicated, but the theme is always related to the event. If you are particularly interested in this feature, try to talk to your event app developer of choice and see if they already offer this type of customisation.

2.) Live polls

During conferences or other types of events where there is a speaker, live polling is a very helpful feature to allow attendees to provide their own input. Events where only the speakers can direct the discussion are considered obsolete in terms of event design. Two-way communication is now encouraged even for large events. Attendees have a say on whatever theme the talk explores and one good way to find out what they feel about a certain point or topic is by letting them participate in live polls using the event app.

3.) Q&A

Related to live polls, the Q&A feature further supports attendee engagement during an event. Aside from merely logging their answers for questions from speakers, they can do the line of questioning themselves through the event app. The Q&A feature allows attendees to ask questions to a speaker or to a panel without having to come forward or speak through a microphone. During the period designated for Q&A, attendees can simply log questions via the app and a moderator can then vet the questions.

4.) Activity Feed

The event activity feed is another way to increase attendee engagement during an event. It acts like a social media platform and invites attendees to share their own thoughts or pictures from the event. Everyone who has log-in access to the app can see the posts of others and they may like or comment to further support networking.